LTC Took A Pretty Big Hit

meisinger · Post by **meisinger** » September 8, 2004 9:36 am

11 20 BUFFETT*JIMMY|LICENSE TO CHILL 44,489 60,223 -26%

Went from #11 last week to #20. Total scanned is now 849,771.

jbfinscj · Post by **jbfinscj** » September 8, 2004 11:49 am

I don't see the problem. License To Chill has sold more albums in less time than any other Buffett album. Usually by this point Buffett would be sitting at the bottom of the Billboard top 100. It has been a great ride, and don't be surprised as singles are released that sales don't pick up again.

Key Lime Lee · Post by **Key Lime Lee** » September 8, 2004 11:54 am

Meisinger isn't saying its a problem... just sharing the numbers and the (obvious) interpretation that it took a hit.

And if anyone here knows about the ebb and flow of the charts it would be him...

Pascagoula Runner · Post by **Pascagoula Runner** » September 8, 2004 11:59 am

jbfinscj wrote:I don't see the problem. License To Chill has sold more albums in less time than any other Buffett album. Usually by this point Buffett would be sitting at the bottom of the Billboard top 100. It has been a great ride, and don't be surprised as singles are released that sales don't pick up again.

Speaking of...Does anybody know how TATS is faring on the charts in comparison with HGL's chart history? Is TATS on a faster pace???

meisinger · Post by **meisinger** » September 8, 2004 1:12 pm

Pascagoula Runner wrote:
jbfinscj wrote:I don't see the problem. License To Chill has sold more albums in less time than any other Buffett album. Usually by this point Buffett would be sitting at the bottom of the Billboard top 100. It has been a great ride, and don't be surprised as singles are released that sales don't pick up again.
Speaking of...Does anybody know how TATS is faring on the charts in comparison with HGL's chart history? Is TATS on a faster pace???

So far not too hot on Bilboard. Last week was #45 this week #41. HGL is #31.
It's early yet.

Pascagoula Runner · Post by **Pascagoula Runner** » September 8, 2004 1:25 pm

So TATS is not rising as "fast" as HGL did???

Mr Play · Post by **Mr Play** » September 8, 2004 1:44 pm

Trip Around The Sun doesn't fit the beach party stereotype a lot of people associate with Jimmy, and I don't think it's what the general public was expecting. It's getting a slower start than HGL but I still think it will catch on.

What's really interesting to me is the impact of LTC on the rest of the JB catalog. If I understand correctly, every copy of MMIM counts as two CD's sold. With over 2 million accounted for already, it's on track to outsell SYKBH and become Jimmy's top-selling album. I'm curious to see how soon this will happen and what the final result will be.

meisinger · Post by **meisinger** » September 8, 2004 2:00 pm

Four Play wrote:Trip Around The Sun doesn't fit the beach party stereotype a lot of people associate with Jimmy, and I don't think it's what the general public was expecting. It's getting a slower start than HGL but I still think it will catch on.

What's really interesting to me is the impact of LTC on the rest of the JB catalog. If I understand correctly, every copy of MMIM counts as two CD's sold. With over 2 million accounted for already, it's on track to outsell SYKBH and become Jimmy's top-selling album. I'm curious to see how soon this will happen and what the final result will be.

I really can't see MMIM outselling SYKBH.

Mr Play · Post by **Mr Play** » September 8, 2004 2:26 pm

I don't know meisinger. Think about it like you're a first-time Buffett listener who likes LTC and wants more. For $6 more wouldn't you spend your money on MMIM? Factor in the 2 to 1 CD advantage, and I think it's got a real chance. Maybe "it's on track to outsell SYKBH" is a little strong, but I think it'll happen.

Either way, LTC is increasing his other sales.

Thanks for the numbers and insight BTW.

meisinger · Post by **meisinger** » September 8, 2004 2:44 pm

Four Play wrote:I don't know meisinger. Think about it like you're a first-time Buffett listener who likes LTC and wants more. For $6 more wouldn't you spend your money on MMIM? Factor in the 2 to 1 CD advantage, and I think it's got a real chance. Maybe "it's on track to outsell SYKBH" is a little strong, but I think it'll happen.

Either way, LTC is increasing his other sales.

Thanks for the numbers and insight BTW.

I agree with you. I just think with MMIM certified double platinum (as a double that's only 1 million copies shipped) it has a long way to go to ship 6X platinum. Like you, I'd love to see it happen.

Mr Play · Post by **Mr Play** » September 8, 2004 5:18 pm

I did the math. I'm assuming a single shipment of MMIM counts as 2 CD's. Correct me if I'm wrong in that assumption.

Suppose MMIM and SYKBH are dead even in current sales. MMIM would need to sell 4 million copies to break even at 10 million individual CD's. That's pretty lofty and isn't likely to happen soon.

Now suppose MMIM sells twice as well as SYKBH. MMIM would need to sell 2.7 million copies to break even at 7.4 million individual CD's. That's a bit more plausible and could happen in a year or two as new fans look for a follow-up to LTC.

You might think it ludicrous that MMIM would outsell SYKBH 2 to 1. If it were my money, I'd shell out the extra $6 (less if you find a good deal). You get 2 cd's that span his entire career, with live versions and previously unreleased material. Who wouldn't go for that over the yellow album?

Jimmy's right - Math Sux. Now I need a boat drink.

JustDucky · Post by **JustDucky** » September 9, 2004 9:54 pm

MMIM would need to sell 3 million copies to equal SYKBH in exact terms of CDs sold. The problem is it's not 6 million COPIES per person so it's not exactly reaching a new fan base or however you want to say it. It would need to sell 12 million copies to equal SYKBH's 6 million copies.

And remember this: there are a lot of unsold copies of SYKBH in used record stores - a lot of people have gotten rid of that compilation because it's (compared to 1985 when it came out) a thin selection. I never play it. I do play MMIM even though the songs on it are not exactly what I was expecting.

Mr Play · Post by **Mr Play** » September 9, 2004 11:53 pm

I see your point. From a technical RIAA certification standpoint, how does it work? I thought a 2-cd set would reach platinum at 500,000 copies, meaning it would hit 6X platinum at 3 million copies. I'm not in the industry so I could be wrong - but I think that's what meisinger and others have said before. If that's not the case then my whole argument goes out the window.

JustDucky · Post by **JustDucky** » September 10, 2004 12:06 am

You have it right. MMIM has gone double platinum. That means it's sold a million copies. One million people bought it. But the RIAA says it's sold two million.

It's the number of records that counts. MMIM is a double album and that's two records sold. Five people bought it and now it's counted as 10 sold.

Isn't that great? So Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads has probably sold close to what, 750,000 copies? That's 3 million some records. Platinum three times over even though there hasn't been a million box sets sold.

I don't know the true numbers for the box set, that's just a guess.

meisinger · Post by **meisinger** » September 10, 2004 7:54 am

TommyMacLuckie wrote:You have it right. MMIM has gone double platinum. That means it's sold a million copies. One million people bought it. But the RIAA says it's sold two million.

It's the number of records that counts. MMIM is a double album and that's two records sold. Five people bought it and now it's counted as 10 sold.

Isn't that great? So Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads has probably sold close to what, 750,000 copies? That's 3 million some records. Platinum three times over even though there hasn't been a million box sets sold.

I don't know the true numbers for the box set, that's just a guess.

You're close. It means distribution has shipped 1 million copies. They (RIAA) count it as two because Soundscan will count it as two. The Soundscan thing can be a little shaky because not all outlets report to Soundscan. They do what they can to level it out by "weighting" some accounts. By that I mean there are some independent record stores out there that when you buy a CD, they scan it, but in their Soundscan report it shows anywhere from 2 to 10. To put that in perspective, there are stores in the U.S. that sell 1 copy of MMIM and it shows scans of 20. The thing is, the music business is a very bottom line business. SYKBH and MMIM are individual pieces of product. They each cost $__ to make and they each sell for $__. They have shipped 6 million copies of SYKBH and 1 million copies of MMIM. By that logic, I don't think MMIM will top it. Also, SYKBH is #33 on this weeks catalog chart. MMIM didn't crack the top 200. #200 scanned 2,020 units. As a double MMIM would have needed to sell just over 1,000 units to make the top 200 and it didn't. It's a great package. Far superior to SYKBH. It just doesn't have the legs.

wanderingtoes · Post by **wanderingtoes** » September 10, 2004 8:38 am

I can see how LTC will help boost the sales. I have had a larger number of people say to me, I bought that new CD of Jimmy Buffett, and they are all mostly country fans. Then the next words were, I really like it, followed by which of his other CD's are good? Now good for us is relative, but for them it means new purchase of more Jimmy, which will be good for MMIM. I'm not a big fan of LTC, but I don't put it down, for me it falls under the different strokes catagory. I feel the sales will continue for it each time a new single is released. I'm also happy Jimmy is having a good time with it and making some money.

Tiki Bar · Post by **Tiki Bar** » September 10, 2004 9:29 am

After reading all these calculations, I need a pretty big hit!!!!

j/k - stats are fun!

Mr Play · Post by **Mr Play** » September 10, 2004 10:00 am

Thanks meisinger.

I didn't realize SYKBH was doing so well. That changes everything.